1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tissue cutting device which cuts tissue in a specimen.
2. Description of Related Art
When performing a medical procedure (including observation, treatment, and so on; hereinafter the same) on human organs and the like, there is a conventional operation known as laparoscopic surgery in which, instead of widely cutting open an abdominal wall, a plurality of openings are made in the abdominal wall and rigid surgical instruments, such as a laparoscope or a forceps, are inserted into each of the openings to perform a surgical procedure. Since laparoscopic surgery can be performed by making small holes, it has advantages that it is only mildly intrusive and the patient makes a swift recovery.
When removing an organ such as a kidney during laparoscopic surgery, the abdominal wall is cut open to a size sufficient to extract the organ. If the organ is cut into small pieces of predetermined size inside the abdominal cavity before being removed to the outside, the abdominal wall need not be widely cut open. One instrument used in such medical procedures includes a cylindrical head main unit which is inserted into the body cavity, with a linear member led into two rows of insertion holes provided in the head main unit. The linear member passes inside the head main unit and is drawn outside from the first insertion hole. While forming a loop, the linear member is then drawn into the second insertion hole. The looped portion of the linear member forms a looped cutting portion for cutting an organ. Both ends of the linear member are secured to a control member. When cutting an organ, the organ is inserted inside the looped cutting portion before pulling the control member along the axial direction of the instrument. The looped cutting portion is drawn through the two insertion holes into the head main unit. The organ is then cut by reducing the loop diameter of the looped cutting portion.